Boost for roads funding in county

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Published:07:00Thursday 26 January 2017

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Lincolnshire County Council now has £35.4m to spend on local road improvements in 2017/18 – and there could be more on the way.

On Friday, the authority was allocated an additional £5.4m by the Department of Transport from its National Productivity Investment Fund, which can be used to reduce congestion at key locations, upgrade or improve the maintenance of local highway assets, to improve access to employment and housing, and to develop economic and job creation opportunities.

This follows the news last autumn that the authority was to receive £27.6m for general maintenance in 2017/18, with an additional £2.5m to tackle an estimated 46,800 potholes.

That has taken Lincolnshire’s total allocation for next year to £35.4m. However, the authority is also expecting to receive a share of DfT’s Local Highways Maintenance Incentive/Efficiency Element Funding and will soon be able to bid for a slice of the £175m Safer Roads Fund to make improvements on specific sections of the A1084 and A631.

Executive member for highways Richard Davies (Con) said: “We know that good roads are a top priority for residents, which is why we not only invest heavily ourselves, but also lobby government for additional funding.

“We’d been expecting to come out of this with around £32m in funding for the year, so to have already hit £35m with more likely to be on the way is a great result.

“We’ll be sure to make every penny count and keep the county’s roads in the best possible condition with the cash that’s available.

“And that’s not just good news for motorists – it should also help boost the local economy, which is good news for everyone.”

Grantham and Stamford MP Nick Boles (Con) has welcomed the funding.

He said: “The state of roads and pavements is something that is constantly raised with me and really frustrates drivers, including me. More funding is obviously great news and I hope that Lincolnshire County Council will use it wisely so that we can see the benefits here in my constituency. The announcement shows that we are delivering on our commitment to invest in infrastructure to support local people, attract businesses and secure a better future.”